I now call on the party spokespeople to ask questions of the Cabinet Secretary, and the first is the UKIP spokesperson, Neil Hamilton.

Thank you very much, Presiding Officer.

Bydd Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet yn ymwybodol mai un o’r problemau mawr mewn ardaloedd gwledig ac yn fy rhanbarth helaeth a gwasgaredig i yng Nghanolbarth a Gorllewin Cymru yn arbennig yw’r cwestiwn dadleuol ynglŷn â chyflymder lawrlwytho band eang. Mae gennyf etholwyr sydd wedi ysgrifennu ataf gyda chyfraddau nodweddiadol o 1 Mbps, o gymharu â 15 Mbps sef cyfartaledd y DU. Rwy’n meddwl tybed a allai Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet grynhoi pa gamau y mae Llywodraeth Cymru yn eu cymryd ar hyn o bryd i wella cyflymder lawrlwytho band eang mewn ardaloedd gwledig.

This is a difficulty for certain parts of the rural areas, and I think it’s about improving the infrastructure for those areas. I will be working closely with my Cabinet colleagues and other Government colleagues to ensure that we get that high-speed broadband in rural areas as quickly as possible.

Forgive me for observing, Cabinet Secretary, that that was rather short on detail in that response. What we are dealing with here are long-term cases of promises that have not been kept by the companies involved. I have a constituent who’s written to me from Abergorlech, in the Carmarthen East and Dinefwr constituency, who was promised an upgrade to fibre broadband in 2015; it didn’t happen. He was then promised that it would be by June of this year; it hasn’t happened. He’s recently been told that he’ll have to wait now until at least the spring of next year before there’s any prospect of improvement. So, I wonder what practical action the Welsh Government can take to put pressure on the companies who are responsible for rolling out broadband in these areas?

I obviously can’t comment on that individual case. The Minister responsible for broadband has just heard your comments. If you’d like to write to her about that specific case, I’m sure that she can chase it up with the company.

One of the big problems here is that Openreach has effectively got a stranglehold on the infrastructure, and I suppose that this all goes back ultimately to the way British Telecom was privatised many years ago. [Interruption.]

Okay, let the Member finish his question.

I think the honourable Member should be gracious in accepting my mea culpa. But, of course, 30 years ago, we couldn’t predict the future with the certainty that Members have today about the future of the European Union. But, nevertheless, where there was a mistake all those years ago, perhaps we should now reconsider those options, and I wonder if the Welsh Government would take that on board as well.

Well, again, I’m sure that the Minister has heard you. I know, in my own constituency, there are other companies providing it, but, as I said, if you’d like to write to the Minister responsible, Julie James, I’m sure you’ll get the answer.

Plaid Cymru spokesperson, Simon Thomas.

Thank you, Presiding Officer. Minister, there’s another important team that’s been in Paris, prior to the football team, which we were congratulating and wishing well earlier on, and that’s the team led by the former Minister that went to the climate change negotiations in Paris prior to Christmas last year. In light of those discussions, does this Government, your Government, consider itself committed, if not legally, at least morally, to achieving the targets set in the Paris agreement?

Yes, absolutely.

Thank you for that confirmation. Of course, that agreement does set the course in taking carbon emissions to zero by the second half of this century and to keep the increase in carbon emissions at 1.5 per cent until that point. Now, during last week, we heard news that we’re about to pass the symbolic but important threshold of 400 parts per million carbon emissions, which shows that the world as a whole is a long way from achieving any target. The Environment (Wales) Act 2016, which your Government was responsible for in the previous Assembly, sets out a target to reduce carbon emissions by 2050. Do you still consider this target to be adequate in order to meet the ambitions of the Paris accord?

Currently, I do. As you say, the environment Act sets a target of at least 80 per cent reduction in emissions by 2050. I think it’s something that we need to watch very closely and I’m committed to doing that.

Thank you for that confirmation, but I do think that we need to keep these targets under review, because an 80 per cent reduction target may not be enough in fact to contribute to that overall Paris ambition. But one of the key ways in which we in Wales could contribute to our own targets and world targets is through better developed renewable energy. We’ve already heard a little about that from north Wales. Would it not be better, therefore, if we had control over energy projects under the Wales Bill without any reference to thresholds whatsoever? So, for example, we could give better support and confidence to exciting and fantastic ideas such as the Swansea bay barrage, and I declare an interest as a community shareholder in that project.

Yes, I think it would, and certainly you’ll be aware of the representations that the First Minister has made to the UK Government in relation to this, and we’ll await with interest what comes now from Westminster.

The Welsh Conservatives’ spokesperson, David Melding.

Thank you, Presiding Officer. Cabinet Secretary, I wish you well with your new portfolio. I look forward to shadowing you in this important area of public policy. I’m afraid I have to start on a sour note, unfortunately. I have noticed that air quality is not listed as one of your responsibilities on the official Welsh Government website—not listed specifically; you’ll argue that it’s there generically, of course—while, for instance, noise policy, which is very important, is there specifically. Does this indicate a lacklustre approach on air quality on the part of the Welsh Government?

I’m very disappointed that you’ve started on such a sour note. It is absolutely my responsibility and I can assure David Melding that improving air quality is absolutely a key objective for the Welsh Government.

I’m sure you’re as concerned as I am, Cabinet Secretary, about the growing scientific evidence that diesel particulates pose a very significant risk to public health. We’re used to talking about the risk of passive smoking, for instance, but these particulates probably carry a graver danger to a wide range of the population. What measures are planned to improve air quality in the light of this evidence?

Well this is part of the whole thing that I’m looking at in relation to air quality, and you’ll be aware that local authorities obviously have duties under the local air quality management regime, and I know in certain areas I’ve been lobbied by Assembly Members, very early in the portfolio, around particular areas in particular local authorities. What I’ve done is ask officials to monitor local authorities very carefully, to make sure they are fulfilling their duties to produce an air quality action plan, so that we can have a look at what specific measures each of them are doing, and obviously the scientific research that we’re getting now in relation to diesel will form part of that.

Cabinet Secretary, I’m glad to note that, but do you think, in a more practical sense, it’s time that in Wales, and in Britain generally, we face up to some of the practical consequences of, for instance, the school run? I think we’re of the same generation, and in my day it was only the ill or the mildly delinquent that were taken to school by private transport. This has a big effect, because it’s children who are going to school, it’s these diesel monsters that are driving lots of other kids there, and they’re then inhaling these dreadful pollutants. We need to do something about it, because it’s not normal for this mass of the school population to be driven to and from school.

I absolutely agree. I remember walking at least, I think, about a mile and a half each way, both to primary and high school. You’re right, we need to have a look at what we can do to encourage people not to use their vehicles, and to make sure that we have the cycle routes that are needed, and to encourage more walking, and that obviously fits in with a healthier lifestyle and well-being as well.